Robot wiring additional routing method and robot

ABSTRACT

A robot wiring additional routing method that includes detaching some fasteners to detach a cover member from a housing member, thus forming a gap between the detached cover member and the housing member; disposing additional wiring at such a position as to be routed across an inside and an outside of the housing member via the formed gap; and, in a state in which a spacer that maintains the gap is sandwiched between the cover member and the housing member, attaching the detached cover member to the housing member by the detached fasteners or other fasteners.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/268,602, filed on Feb. 6, 2019, which is based on and claims priorityto Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-063647, the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a robot wiring additional routingmethod and a robot.

BACKGROUND

In the related art, wiring, such as a cable, used for driving a motor ofeach shaft of a robot is routed by using a space inside a mechanism ofthe robot (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application,Publication No. 2012-20368). On the other hand, wiring for a device tobe additionally attached to the robot, such as a peripheral device to beinstalled on the distal end of an arm, is generally routed along anouter surface of the robot (for example, see Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication, Publication No. 2014-100743).

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a robot wiringadditional routing method in which additional wiring is additionallyrouted for a robot that is provided with: a plurality of housing membersthat are coupled so as to be relatively movable; a cover member that isdetachably attached to at least one of the housing members by means offasteners; and existing wiring that is routed via a communication spacecommunicating with internal spaces of the housing members, the methodincluding: detaching some of the fasteners to detach the cover memberfrom the corresponding housing member, thus forming a gap between thedetached cover member and the housing member; disposing the additionalwiring at such a position as to be routed across an inside and anoutside of the housing member, via the formed gap; and attaching thedetached cover member to the housing member by means of the detachedfasteners or other fasteners, in a state in which a spacer thatmaintains the gap is sandwiched between the cover member and the housingmember.

The above-described aspect may further include: disposing an elasticmember that surrounds an outer circumference of the additional wiring atthe position of the gap; and fixing the additional wiring at theposition of the gap by sandwiching and elastically deforming the elasticmember between the cover member and the housing member, when thedetached cover member is attached to the housing member.

In the above-described aspect, the fasteners may be bolts; and the otherfasteners may be bolts longer than the detached fasteners.

In the above-described aspect, the additional wiring may be disposedalong the same route as the existing wiring.

In the above-described aspect, the additional wiring may be fixed so asto be adjacent to and parallel to the existing wiring, at fixing siteswhere the existing wiring is fixed to the respective housing members.

In the above-described aspect, the additional wiring may be fixed to twoof the fixing sites that are both ends of a movable section of theexisting wiring, so as to have a length equal to or longer than themaximum length of the existing wiring between the fixing sites. In amovable section of the existing wiring, the length of the correspondingsection of each wiring disposed between the two fixing sites, which arelocated at both ends of the movable section, is set to a lengthincluding an extra length such that an excessive load is not imposed onthe wiring through the operation of the robot.

In the above-described aspect, the spacer may be formed into a flatplate shape to be sandwiched between the housing member and the covermember and may be provided with a notch that forms, between the housingmember and the cover member, the gap through which the additional wiringcan be made to pass in a state in which the spacer is sandwiched betweenthe housing member and the cover member.

In the above-described aspect, the cover member may be a wiring platethrough which the existing wiring penetrates; the spacer may be formedinto a C-shape in which a circumferential part thereof is cut off, withthe notch; and the notch may have such a space size as to allow theexisting wiring to pass therethrough.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a robotincluding: a plurality of housing members that are coupled so as to berelatively movable; a cover member that is detachably attached to atleast one of the housing members by means of fasteners; existing wiringthat is routed via a communication space communicating with internalspaces of the housing members; and a spacer that forms a gap thatallows, in a state in which the spacer is sandwiched between the atleast one housing member and the cover member, additional wiring to bedisposed between the housing member and the cover member.

In the above-described aspect, the spacer may be disposed between eachof two different housing members of the plurality of housing members andthe cover member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot, showing a state in which wiringis additionally routed by a robot wiring additional routing methodaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the robot in which thewiring shown in FIG. 1 has not been additionally routed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the robot wiring additional routingmethod for the robot shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a base body and a wiringplate of the robot shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which the wiringplate of the robot shown in FIG. 4 is detached from the base body.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing a second arm body and acover member of the robot shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which the covermember of the robot shown in FIG. 6 is detached from the second armbody.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which a spaceris disposed between the wiring plate and the base body, which are shownin FIG. 5, and an additional cable is introduced.

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which a spaceris disposed between the cover member and the second arm body, which areshown in FIG. 7, and the additional cable is taken out and is connectedto a camera.

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which thespacer is sandwiched between the wiring plate and the base body, whichare shown in FIG. 8, and the wiring plate is fixed to the base body.

FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which thespacer is sandwiched between the cover member and the second arm body,which are shown in FIG. 9, and the cover member is fixed to the secondarm body.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the robot according to the oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A robot wiring additional routing method for a robot 1 according to oneembodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

The robot wiring additional routing method of this embodiment is amethod for routing an additional cable 3 etc. (additional wiring) thatis to be connected to a device 2, e.g., a camera, externally attached toa vertical articulated robot (hereinafter, referred to as robot) 1 shownin FIG. 1, for example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 1, in which the additional device 2 andcable 3 have not been attached and routed, is provided with: a base 4that is installed on the floor; a turning torso 5 that is capable ofrotating about a vertical first axis with respect to the base 4; a firstarm 6 that is capable of rotating about a horizontal second axis withrespect to the turning torso 5; a second arm 7 that is capable ofrotating about a third axis parallel to the second axis, with respect tothe first arm 6; and a 3-axis wrist unit 8 that is attached to a distalend of the second arm 7.

The base 4 is provided with: a base body (housing member) 9 that ishollow and that has an opening; and a wiring plate (cover member) 10that blocks the opening of the base body 9. A connector 10 a at the endof a cable (existing wiring) 11, to be described later, is fixed to thewiring plate 10. A section of the cable 11, which is fixed to the wiringplate 10, is accommodated in an internal space of the base body 9, theopening of which is blocked by the wiring plate 10. The wiring plate 10is fixed to the base body 9 by means of bolts (fasteners) 12.

The turning torso 5 is provided with: a turning torso body (housingmember) 13 that is hollow and that has an opening; and a cover member 14that blocks the opening of the turning torso body 13. An internal spaceof the turning torso body 13 communicates with the internal space of thebase body 9 via a communication space B. The cover member 14 is fixed tothe turning torso body 13 by means of bolts (fasteners).

The first arm 6 is provided with: a first arm body (housing member) 15that is hollow and that has an opening; and a cover member 16 thatblocks the opening of the first arm body 15. An internal space of thefirst arm body 15 communicates with the internal space of the turningtorso 5 via another communication space B. The cover member 16 is fixedto the first arm body 15 by means of bolts (fasteners).

The second arm 7 is provided with: a second arm body (housing member) 17that is hollow and that has an opening; and a cover member 18 thatblocks the opening of the second arm body 17. An internal space of thesecond arm body 17 communicates with the internal space of the first arm6 via still another communication space B. The cover member 18 is fixedto the second arm body 17 by means of bolts (fasteners) 19.

For example, a motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the turningtorso 5 with respect to the base 4 is accommodated in the internal spaceof the base body 9.

For example, a motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the first arm6 with respect to the turning torso 5 and a motor (not shown) thatrotationally drives the second arm 7 with respect to the first arm 6 areaccommodated in the internal space of the first arm 6.

Furthermore, for example, a motor (not shown) that rotationally drivesthe wrist unit 8 with respect to the second arm 7 is accommodated in theinternal space of the second arm 7.

The cable 11, which is connected to the respective motors, is routed ina route that starts from the connector 10 a, which is fixed to the basebody 9, that enters the internal space of the turning torso 5 via theinternal space of the base body 9 and the corresponding communicationspace B, that enters the internal space of the first arm 6 via thecorresponding communication space B, and that reaches the internal spaceof the second arm 7 via the corresponding communication space B.

Because sections of the cable 11 that pass through the respectivecommunication spaces B are movable, the sections of the cable 11 arefixed, at both ends of each of the communication spaces B, to fixingmetal fittings (fixing sites) 20 that are attached to the base body 9,the turning torso body 13, the first arm body 15, and the second armbody 17, by means of binding bands etc. While being routed from thewiring plate 10 to the second arm 7 via the predetermined route, thecable 11 is branched in the vicinities of the respective motors, and thebranched sections thereof are connected to the respective motors.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the robot wiring additional routing method forthe robot 1 of this embodiment, first, the wiring plate 10 is detachedfrom the base body 9 by loosening the bolts 12, as shown in FIGS. 4 and5 (Step S1). As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the cover members 14, 16, and 18are detached from the turning torso body 13, the first arm body 15, andthe second arm body 17 by loosening the bolts 19 (Step S2). By detachingthe wiring plate 10 and the respective cover members 14, 16, and 18, theinternal spaces of the base body 9, the turning torso body 13, the firstarm body 15, and the second arm body 17 are opened, thus making itpossible to facilitate routing work for the additional cable 3.

Next, the additional cable 3 is inserted into the internal space of thebase body 9 from the opening of the base body 9, which is opened bydetaching the wiring plate 10, as shown in FIG. 8 (Step S3) and ispulled out to the internal space of the turning torso body 13 via thecorresponding communication space B. The cable 3 pulled toward theturning torso body 13 is pulled out to the internal space of the firstarm body 15 via the corresponding communication space B. Furthermore,the cable 3 pulled toward the first arm body 15 is pulled out to theinternal space of the second arm body 17 via the correspondingcommunication space B. Then, the cable 3 pulled toward the second armbody 17 is pulled out to the outside from the opening of the second armbody 17 and is connected to the external device 2, as shown in FIG. 9(Step S4).

The cable 3 disposed in the internal space of the robot 1 in this way isdisposed along the same route as the existing cable 11 (Step S5) and isfixed parallel to the existing cable 11 by using the fixing metalfittings 20, which fix the existing cable 11 (Step S6). In FIG. 1,reference signs A indicate fixing sites. The cable 3 is fixed to thefixing metal fittings 20, which are disposed at both ends of each of thecommunication spaces B, at such positions of the cable 3 that the lengthof each of the corresponding sections of the cable 3 between the twofixing metal fittings 20 with the corresponding communication space Btherebetween is longer than that of the existing cable 11.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, a spacer 21 and an elastic member 22 aredisposed between the wiring plate 10 and the base body 9 (Step S7). Inthis embodiment, the spacer 21 is a rectangular frame-like member havinga fixed thickness size and having substantially the same external formas the external form of the wiring plate 10, and is formed to besubstantially C-shaped in transverse cross-section due to a notch 23that is formed by cutting out a circumferential part of the spacer 21.The spacer 21 is provided with through-holes 25 penetrating therethroughin the thickness direction, at positions corresponding to through-holes24 that are provided in the wiring plate 10 and through which the bolts12 are made to pass.

As shown in FIG. 8, the notch 23 has a larger width size than thethickness of the existing cable 11, which is connected to the wiringplate 10. The elastic member 22 is formed of arectangular-parallelepiped-shaped sponge rubber that can be disposed inthe notch 23 by being made to contract. The elastic member 22 isprovided with a slit 26 that is cut into the center from one sidethereof. Accordingly, an intermediate position of the additional cable 3in the length direction is inserted into the slit 26, thereby making itpossible to dispose the elastic member 22 so as to surround thecircumference of the cable 3 at this position. The size of one side ofthe elastic member 22 is formed to be substantially the same as thewidth of the notch 23, and the size of another one side thereof isformed to be larger than the thickness size of the spacer 21.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the bolts 12 that fix the wiring plate 10 tothe base body 9 are substituted by bolts 12 that are longer by thethickness of the spacer 21, and the substitute long bolts 12 are made topenetrate through the through-holes 24 and 25 of the wiring plate 10 andthe spacer 21 and are fastened into screw holes 27 in the base body 9(Step S8). At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the elastic member 22 thathas been attached to the cable 3 is disposed at such a position as tofill the notch 23 of the spacer 21. Accordingly, when the wiring plate10 and the base body 9 are fastened to each other with the spacer 21sandwiched therebetween, the cable 3 passes through the notch positionof the spacer 21 and is disposed so as to be routed across the insideand outside of the base body 9, and the elastic member 22 is compressedbetween the wiring plate 10 and the base body 9, thus fixing the cable 3at this position.

In the same way, as shown in FIG. 9, another spacer 21 that has a notch23 and another elastic member 22 that has a slit 26 are prepared alsofor the opening of the second arm body 17, and, as shown in FIG. 11, theelastic member 22 is attached to the cable 3 and is disposed at such aposition as to fill the notch 23, and substitute long bolts 19 are madeto penetrate through the through-holes 28 and 25 of the cover member 18and the spacer 21 and are fastened into screw holes 29 in the second armbody 17, thereby fixing the cable 3 (Step S9). Accordingly, when thecover member 18 and the second arm body 17 are fastened to each otherwith the spacer 21 sandwiched therebetween, the cable 3 passes throughthe notch position of the spacer 21 and is disposed so as to be routedacross the inside and outside of the second arm body 17, and the elasticmember 22 is compressed between the cover member 18 and the second armbody 17, thus fixing the cable 3 at this position.

Thereafter, the other cover members 14 and 16 are also attached to theturning torso body 13 and the first arm body 15 by means of bolts, thusblocking the openings thereof (Step S10).

Accordingly, routing work for the additional cable 3 to the robot 1 iscompleted.

In this way, according to the robot wiring additional routing method forthe robot 1 of this embodiment, by simply detaching the wiring plate 10from the base body 9, inserting the spacer 21 therebetween, andre-attaching the wiring plate 10 to the base body 9 with the long bolts12, it is possible to introduce the additional cable 3 into the internalspace of the robot 1 via a gap formed between the wiring plate 10 andthe base body 9. In this case, by using the spacer 21 that is C-shapedand that has the notch 23, it is possible to dispose the spacer 21between the wiring plate 10 and the base body 9 without detaching thecable 11, which is fixed to the wiring plate 10, from the wiring plate10.

Then, in this case, by surrounding the cable 3 with the elastic member22 at such a position as to penetrate through the notch 23 of the spacer21, there is an advantage in that it is possible to prevent the cable 3from being brought into contact with edge sections etc. of the wiringplate 10 and the base body 9 and to easily fix the cable 3 at thisposition by compressing the elastic member 22.

Because the additional cable 3 is routed in the same route as theexisting cable 11 by using the fixing metal fittings 20, which fix theexisting cable 11, it is possible to prevent a large load from beingimposed on the additional cable 3 when the robot 1 is operated.

In particular, because a section of the additional cable 3 disposed in aregion where the sections of the cables are movable is attached to thefixing metal fittings 20, which are located at both ends of the region,at such positions of the cable 3 that the length of the section of theadditional cable 3 is longer than that of the existing cable 11, thereis an advantage in that the load imposed on the additional cable 3through the operation of the robot 1 can be reliably reduced, comparedwith the load imposed on the existing cable 11.

Then, by simply detaching the cover member 18 from the second arm body17, inserting the spacer 21 therebetween, and re-attaching the covermember 18 to the second arm body 17 with the long bolts 19, theadditional cable 3 can be taken out from the internal space of the robot1 to the outside via a gap formed between the cover member 18 and thesecond arm body 17.

In this case, by surrounding the cable 3 with the elastic member 22 atsuch a position as to penetrate through the notch 23 of the spacer 21,there is also an advantage in that it is possible to prevent the cable 3from being brought into contact with the cover member 18 and the secondarm body 17 and to easily fix the cable 3 at this position bycompressing the elastic member 22.

Then, according to the robot wiring additional routing method for therobot 1 of this embodiment, there is an advantage in that it is possibleto route the additional cable 3 by simply adding the spacers 21 and theelastic members 22 and substituting the bolts 12, 19 with the long bolts12, 19, and to route the additional cable 3 inside the mechanism of therobot 1, without performing additional machining on the originalcomponent parts of the robot 1.

Note that, in this embodiment, although a camera is shown as an exampleof the external device 2, the external device is not limited thereto.Although the cable 3 is shown as example wiring to be additionallyrouted, the present invention may be applied to a case in whicharbitrary wiring, such as a hose, is routed.

Although a description has been given of a case in which the cable 3 isintroduced into the internal space of the base body 9 from between thebase body 9 and the wiring plate 10, and the cable 3 in the internalspace of the second arm body 17 is taken out to the outside from betweenthe second arm body 17 and the cover member 18, instead of this, it isalso possible to adopt other positions where the cable 3 is introducedand is taken out.

Although a description has been given of a case in which the wiring 3 tobe connected to the external device 2 is routed, instead of this, forexample, the present invention may also be applied to additional routingof the wiring 3 to a device to be installed in the internal space of thesecond arm body 17.

In this case, the spacer 21 may be installed at one place where thecable 3 is introduced from the outside.

Although a rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped block-like sponge rubber isshown as an example of the elastic member 22, instead of this, it isalso possible to adopt another arbitrary form, for example, a tape-likeelastic member or the like to be wound around the cable 3. The elasticmember 22 can have an arbitrary form as long as the elastic member 22can fix the cable 3 by being sandwiched and compressed between the covermember 10, 14, 16, 18 and the housing member 9, 13, 15, 17.

It is also possible to dispose, between the spacer 21 and the wiringplate 10 and between the spacer 21 and the base body 9, seal members orseal paints for sealing gaps therebetween. Similarly, it is alsopossible to dispose, between the spacer 21 and the cover member 18 andbetween the spacer 21 and the second arm body 17, seal members or sealpaints for sealing gaps therebetween.

Although a single-body spacer that has a rectangular frame-like shapeand that is provided with the notch 23, which is obtained by cutting offa circumferential part thereof, thus having a C-shaped form as a whole,is adopted as the spacer 21, instead of this, a spacer having twoseparate bodies may be adopted. Although a description has been given ofa case in which the gap between the cover member 10, 14, 16, 18 and thehousing member 9, 13, 15, 17 is sealed over the entire circumference bymeans of the spacer 21 and the elastic member 22, if the sealingperformance is not required, it is also possible to adopt, as the spacer21, tubular members to be partially disposed only at the positions ofthe bolts 12, 19.

Although the spacer 21 that is C-shaped in which a circumferential partthereof is cut off is shown as an example, it is also possible to adopta closed ring-like spacer 21 and to provide therein a notch that isformed of a recess for forming a gap in a surface to be in close contactwith the cover member 10, 14, 16, 18 or the housing member 9, 13, 15,17.

As shown in FIG. 12, the robot 1 according to the one embodiment of thepresent invention may be provided with the spacers 21 and the elasticmembers 22 in advance at the positions where the additional cable 3 isintroduced and is taken out. According to this configuration, the bolts12, 19 are loosened to detach the spacers 21 together with the covermember 18 and the wiring plate 10 when the external device 2 isattached, and they are attached to the original positions after theadditional cable 3 is routed, thereby making it possible to performadditional routing of the additional cable 3, without adding orsubstituting parts.

Note that, in this case, the spacer 21 and the elastic member 22 may beprovided at one place.

In this embodiment, although a description has been given of an examplecase in which the additional cable 3 is disposed in the same route asthe existing cable 11, the additional cable 3 and the existing cable 11need not be disposed in the same route and may be disposed in differentroutes.

As a result, the following aspect is read from the above describedembodiment of the present invention.

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a robot wiringadditional routing method in which additional wiring is additionallyrouted for a robot that is provided with: a plurality of housing membersthat are coupled so as to be relatively movable; a cover member that isdetachably attached to at least one of the housing members by means offasteners; and existing wiring that is routed via a communication spacecommunicating with internal spaces of the housing members, the methodincluding: detaching some of the fasteners to detach the cover memberfrom the corresponding housing member, thus forming a gap between thedetached cover member and the housing member; disposing the additionalwiring at such a position as to be routed across an inside and anoutside of the housing member, via the formed gap; and attaching thedetached cover member to the housing member by means of the detachedfasteners or other fasteners, in a state in which a spacer thatmaintains the gap is sandwiched between the cover member and the housingmember.

According to this aspect, some of the fasteners that attach the covermember to the housing member are detached, thereby detaching the covermember from the housing member and forming a gap between the detachedcover member and the housing member. Accordingly, it is possible toinsert the additional wiring into the housing member from the outside ofthe robot.

The wiring is disposed at such a position as to be routed across theinside and outside of the housing member, via the formed gap, and asection of the additional wiring that is disposed inside the housingmember is routed to a desired position at the distal end of the robot,via a route in which the wiring is not subjected to a large load eventhrough the operation of the robot.

Thereafter, the spacer is interposed between the detached cover memberand the housing member, thereby making it possible to re-attach thecover member to the housing member while maintaining the gap throughwhich the additional wiring is made to pass. Specifically, according tothis aspect, the additional wiring, to be additionally attached, can berouted in the mechanism of the robot, without performing additionalmachining on the original component parts of the robot.

The above-described aspect may further include: disposing an elasticmember that surrounds an outer circumference of the additional wiring atthe position of the gap; and fixing the additional wiring at theposition of the gap by sandwiching and elastically deforming the elasticmember between the cover member and the housing member, when thedetached cover member is attached to the housing member.

With this configuration, the wiring, which is disposed at such aposition as to be routed across the inside and outside of the housingmember via the gap formed between the cover member and the housingmember, is fixed between the cover member and the housing member due toelastic deformation of the elastic member, which is disposed at such aposition as to surround the wiring. Accordingly, it is possible toprevent wear of the wiring caused by direct contact between the wiringand edge sections etc. of the cover member and the housing member.

In the above-described aspect, the fasteners may be bolts; and the otherfasteners may be bolts longer than the detached fasteners.

With this configuration, when the spacer is sandwiched between the covermember and the housing member, and the cover member is re-attached tothe housing member, the bolts, which are the fasteners, are simplysubstituted by the long bolts, which are longer by the thickness of thespacer, thereby making it possible to easily attach the cover member tothe housing member.

In the above-described aspect, the additional wiring may be disposedalong the same route as the existing wiring.

In the above-described aspect, the additional wiring may be fixed so asto be adjacent to and parallel to the existing wiring, at fixing siteswhere the existing wiring is fixed to the respective housing members.

With this configuration, the additional wiring, to be additionallyattached, can be easily disposed in the same route as the existingwiring.

In the above-described aspect, the additional wiring may be fixed to twoof the fixing sites that are both ends of a movable section of theexisting wiring, so as to have a length equal to or longer than themaximum length of the existing wiring between the fixing sites. In amovable section of the existing wiring, the length of the correspondingsection of each wiring disposed between the two fixing sites, which arelocated at both ends of the movable section, is set to a lengthincluding an extra length such that an excessive load is not imposed onthe wiring through the operation of the robot.

With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the load on theadditional wiring, which is disposed parallel to the existing wiring, tothe load on the existing wiring or less, and to improve the durabilityof the thus-added additional wiring.

In the above-described aspect, the spacer may be formed into a flatplate shape to be sandwiched between the housing member and the covermember and may be provided with a notch that forms, between the housingmember and the cover member, the gap through which the additional wiringcan be made to pass in a state in which the spacer is sandwiched betweenthe housing member and the cover member.

With this configuration, when the flat-plate-shaped spacer is sandwichedbetween the housing member and the cover member, the notch provided inthe spacer easily forms the gap, which has a maximum size correspondingto the thickness of the spacer.

In the above-described aspect, the cover member may be a wiring platethrough which the existing wiring penetrates; the spacer may be formedinto a C-shape in which a circumferential part thereof is cut off, withthe notch; and the notch may have such a space size as to allow theexisting wiring to pass therethrough.

With this configuration, in a state in which the cover member, whichforms the wiring plate, is detached from the housing member, a sectionof the existing wiring disposed between the cover member and the housingmember is inserted into the inside of the spacer via the notch, therebymaking it possible to dispose the spacer between the cover member andthe housing member, without detaching the existing wiring from the covermember.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a robotincluding: a plurality of housing members that are coupled so as to berelatively movable; a cover member that is detachably attached to atleast one of the housing members by means of fasteners; existing wiringthat is routed via a communication space communicating with internalspaces of the housing members; and a spacer that forms a gap thatallows, in a state in which the spacer is sandwiched between the atleast one housing member and the cover member, additional wiring to bedisposed between the housing member and the cover member.

According to this aspect, in a state in which the gap between the covermember and the housing member is expanded by loosening the fasteners anddetaching the cover member from the housing member, the additionalwiring is disposed inside and outside the housing via the expanded gap,and the cover member and the housing member, with the spacer sandwichedtherebetween, are again fastened by means of the fasteners, therebymaking it possible to easily route the additional wiring, to beadditionally attached, inside the housing member.

In the above-described aspect, the spacer may be disposed between eachof two different housing members of the plurality of housing members andthe cover member.

With this configuration, the additional wiring is introduced into one ofthe housing members via the gap between the housing member and the covermember, and the introduced additional wiring is taken out to the outsideof the other housing member located closer to the distal end of therobot, via the gap between the other housing member and thecorresponding cover member, thus making it possible to route theadditional wiring to an additional device that is fixed to the outsideof the robot.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 robot-   3 cable (additional wiring)-   9 base body (housing member)-   10 wiring plate (cover member)-   11 cable (existing wiring)-   12, 19 bolt (fastener)-   13 turning torso body (housing member)-   14, 16, 18 cover member-   15 first arm body (housing member)-   17 second arm body (housing member)-   20 fixing metal fitting (fixing site)-   21 spacer-   22 elastic member-   23 notch-   B communication space

The invention claimed is:
 1. A robot wiring additional routing method inwhich additional wiring is additionally routed for a robot that isprovided with a plurality of housing members that are coupled so as tobe relatively movable; a cover member that is detachably attached to atleast one of the housing members by means of fasteners; and existingwiring that is routed via a communication space communicating withinternal spaces of the housing members, the method comprising: detachingsome of the fasteners to detach the cover member from the correspondinghousing member, thus forming a gap between the detached cover member andthe housing member; disposing the additional wiring at such a positionas to be routed across an inside and an outside of the housing member,via the formed gap; and attaching the detached cover member to thehousing member, with a spacer provided between the cover member and thehousing member and having a notch disposed therein, with the detachedfasteners or other fasteners, in a state in which the cover member andthe housing member are separated from each other by a thickness of thespacer by sandwiching the spacer that maintains the gap between thecover member and the housing member, wherein the notch forms a channelthrough which the additional wiring passes.
 2. The robot wiringadditional routing method according to claim 1, further comprising:disposing an elastic member that surrounds an outer circumference of theadditional wiring at the position of the gap; and fixing the additionalwiring at the position of the gap by sandwiching and elasticallydeforming the elastic member between the cover member and the housingmember, when the detached cover member is attached to the housingmember.
 3. The robot wiring additional routing method according to claim1, wherein the fasteners are bolts; and the other fasteners are boltslonger than the detached fasteners.
 4. The robot wiring additionalrouting method according to claim 1, wherein the additional wiring isdisposed along the same route as the existing wiring.
 5. The robotwiring additional routing method according to claim 1, wherein theadditional wiring is fixed so as to be adjacent to and parallel to theexisting wiring, at fixing sites where the existing wiring is fixed tothe respective housing members.
 6. The robot wiring additional routingmethod according to claim 5, wherein the additional wiring is fixed totwo of the fixing sites that are both ends of a movable section of theexisting wiring, so as to have a length equal to or longer than themaximum length of the existing wiring between the fixing sites.
 7. Therobot wiring additional routing method according to claim 1, wherein thespacer is formed into a flat plate shape to be sandwiched between thehousing member and the cover member.
 8. The robot wiring additionalrouting method according to claim 7, wherein the cover member is awiring plate through which the existing wiring penetrates; the spacer isformed into a C-shape in which a circumferential part thereof is cutoff, with the notch; and the notch has such a space size as to allow theexisting wiring to pass therethrough.
 9. A robot comprising: a pluralityof housing members that are coupled so as to be relatively movable; acover member that is detachably attached to at least one of the housingmembers by means of fasteners; existing wiring that is routed on a firstpath via a communication space communicating with internal spaces of thehousing members; and a spacer that forms a gap between the housingmember and the cover member by sandwiching the spacer between thehousing member and the cover member, wherein the cover member isseparated from the housing member by loosening the fasteners, the robotfurther comprising additional wiring disposed between the housing memberand the cover member and extending through the gap along a second pathdifferent from the first path, wherein the cover member is sized tofully blocks an opening of the housing member if directly attached tothe housing member.
 10. The robot according to claim 9, wherein thespacer is disposed between each of two different housing members of theplurality of housing members and the cover member.